Executive Summary
- The Trump administration has formalized bilateral deportation agreements with Honduras and Uganda, allowing the US to deport non-citizen migrants to these countries.
- These agreements are part of President Trump’s broader strategy to expand the number of countries willing to accept deported non-citizen migrants, intensifying the crackdown on illegal immigration.
- The policy faces strong condemnation from human rights campaigners and some legal figures, who express concerns about potential harm to migrants and violations of international law.
The Story So Far
- The Trump administration’s recent deportation agreements with Honduras and Uganda are part of a broader strategy to intensify its crackdown on illegal immigration by expanding the number of countries willing to accept deported non-citizens. This initiative reflects President Trump’s key campaign promise to remove undocumented migrants and has been facilitated by a US Supreme Court decision that allowed the administration to resume deportations to third countries without prior risk assessment.
Why This Matters
- The formalization of bilateral deportation agreements with Honduras and Uganda marks a significant expansion of President Trump’s strategy to intensify immigration enforcement by deporting non-citizens to third countries, a move enabled by a recent Supreme Court decision. This policy, however, raises substantial human rights concerns among advocates and some judicial figures, who fear migrants could be sent to nations with problematic human rights records or where they face further danger, potentially violating international law.
Who Thinks What?
- The Trump administration views these bilateral deportation agreements as a key part of its strategy to intensify the crackdown on illegal immigration and share the burden of managing it.
- Human rights campaigners, UN rights experts, and dissenting Supreme Court Justices condemn the policy, raising concerns that migrants could be sent to countries where they face harm and that such removals might violate international law.
- Honduras and Uganda have agreed to accept deported individuals who are not their own citizens, with specific conditions such as Uganda accepting African and Asian migrants without criminal histories, and Honduras taking Spanish-speaking individuals including families.
The United States has formalized bilateral deportation agreements with Honduras and Uganda, a development reported by CBS, the US partner of the BBC, based on obtained documents. These agreements are part of the Trump administration’s broader strategy to intensify its crackdown on illegal immigration by expanding the number of countries willing to accept deported migrants who are not their own citizens.
Details of the Agreements
Under the new arrangements, Uganda has consented to accept an unspecified number of African and Asian migrants who had sought asylum at the US-Mexico border, provided they do not have criminal histories. The precise quantity of individuals Uganda will ultimately receive remains unclear.
Honduras, conversely, has agreed to take in several hundred deported individuals from Spanish-speaking countries over a two-year period, including families traveling with children. Documents suggest that Honduras could potentially agree to accept a larger number of migrants than initially specified.
Broader Deportation Strategy
These deals are consistent with the Trump administration’s wider initiative to establish deportation agreements with nations across multiple continents, some of which have controversial human rights records. To date, at least a dozen countries have agreed to accept deported migrants who are not their own citizens.
Last week, the US State Department announced a “safe third country” agreement with Paraguay, framed as an effort to “share the burden of managing illegal immigration.” The White House has also been engaging with several African nations, with Rwanda stating earlier this month that it would accept up to 250 migrants from the US, subject to its approval of each individual. Rwanda’s human rights record has drawn scrutiny, particularly regarding the risk of further deportation to countries where individuals might face danger.
Earlier this year, Panama and Costa Rica also agreed to accept several hundred African and Asian migrants from the US. Government documents cited by CBS indicate that the Trump administration has also approached countries such as Ecuador and Spain regarding similar arrangements.
Legal Context and Opposition
Since the beginning of his second term, President Trump has pursued extensive efforts to remove undocumented migrants, a key promise of his election campaign. In June, the US Supreme Court greenlit the Trump administration’s ability to resume deportations of migrants to countries other than their homeland without providing them an opportunity to raise potential risks they might face.
The Supreme Court’s decision drew dissent from Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson, who characterized the ruling as “a gross abuse.” Human rights campaigners have publicly condemned the policy, expressing concerns that migrants could be sent to countries where they face harm. Additionally, UN rights experts and various human rights organizations have argued that such removals to a nation not of a migrant’s origin could potentially violate international law.
The newly announced agreements with Honduras and Uganda signify a continued expansion of the Trump administration’s strategy to broaden its deportation network. While the administration frames these deals as crucial to its immigration enforcement efforts, they continue to draw strong condemnation and legal challenges from human rights advocates and some judicial figures.
